Peach Blossoms
by DarkBlueMint
Summary: The Cat and the Wolf find themselves in the chains of love without chance of getting out. MaiMikoto, ShizNat, NaoShiho.
1. Chapter 1

**Peach Blossoms**

By: DarkBlue Mint

Disclaimer: No thanks, too much work.

Notes: The title comes from one of my favorites... let's say this if you use that and guess my favorite anime and character; I'll post another fic as soon as I get the answer; let's sweeten the deal I'll write a fic of a series of the winner choice, as long as I have seen the series and I like the pairing. (If no one guesses I'll post more fics anyway but this way is more entertaining). Forgive the grammar (if someone wants to correct the grammar you are more than welcome).

* * *

The kendo practice was taking longer than other days. Although some of the members thought that the extended battle had something to do with the meeting in two weeks the rest of them could notice that it was more of a fight than training. Takeda Masashi could notice this in the two kendoka currently combating; when most people didn't give much credit to Takeda as a normal guy he was an incredible knowledgeable kendoka; so it wasn't hard for him to see that one of the fighters had a killing aura that was disrespectful for the art. Still it took him a total of ten minutes to stop the fight; the forms of both contenders were to be admired.

At the beginning he had been happy with Minagi Mikoto; the small girl had taken easily to the shinai and the bokken, not having any trouble in using either of them at practice, not only that, she had been quick in understanding the rules of the art. He was sure that with her joining, and Tate Yuuichi coming back to the club, Fuuka Gakuen had chances of winning the regionals. How was he to know that the younger sister of the Fuku-Kaicho and the lost sheep of the club were at the moment in a love triangle? (If rumors were correct it was more of a Y; with three different people in love with the same girl).

"Minagi-san!" He screamed with all the strength that being the captain gave him. "Stop this right now or this will be your last time in here!"

The dark haired girl stopped immediately. Tate was fast in bowing and running to the changing rooms; he didn't want to give reason to start a second fight, the only reason why he hadn't ended up hurt had been experience. Even though Mikoto had used swords since she was little, she was practically unfamiliar with the armor and the shinai used in kendo; his knowledge of the weights of the armor and the forms of the shinai had let him survive the "training".

"Come with me Minagi-san. The rest of you go change, practice is over for the day." At his quick orders the kohai started to clean the room with the help of the manager Munakata Shiho, while the senpai went to change. Takeda guided Mikoto outside by way of one of the side doors; it wouldn't do to have their conversation interrupted by someone leaving the gym. "What was that?"

"Training." The answer wasn't accompanied by the smile that he used to see in the dark haired girl before; it seemed as if the triangle was hurting her more than the rumors let on.

"That wasn't training! You were trying to maul Tate-san." He was used to this small chats, it wasn't the first time that two members of the club used training to fight for a girl, and Takeda had the speech memorized. "I welcomed you to the club because your brother is my friend. What you just did it's not only lack of respect to the art of Kendo but also lack of respect to Kanzaki-san."

Mikoto opinion on her brother had changed in all this but she still held him in high regard. The idea of disrespect him in any way actually hurt her, almost as much as the situation that they all found themselves in. Everything was easier before when all she had to do was obey her grandfather and train with Miroku; why had she left? She preferred to stay in the small island that way she would have never been a pawn in the Carnival, she would have never meet Tokiha Mai, she would have never grown up and know about this pain.

"You don't understand." Tried to explain the former HiME in form of apology, but Takeda had heard those words before. All said by kendoka with their heads down, and regretting their action.

"I do understand." Sighed Takeda, while remembering a girl with dark head that held his heart (and his hormones). "I'm in a lost situation not that different from yours; but you don't see me trying to solve my problems by grabbing a shinai and fighting my rival, don't you? Kendo is about the way of the sword, so people think it's for fighting, but it's actually about grounding oneself." Hoping that the young girl had understood him Takeda went to the changing rooms. "I hope today is a lesson. Next time you will meditate and practice some kata, it's going to take me sometime to trust you in a fight."

After he left Mikoto searched the sky for a while, hoping that the cloud give her some answer, minutes later she went to change. Her day was going to get worse.

--

During the carnival the friendship between Shiho and Mikoto had been tentative. After that Shiho became the manager of the kendo club, the girls had started to have more contact with each other and the friendship had blossomed. This actually created an interesting dynamic, as Mikoto's other friend was one Yuuki Nao; so while Shiho acted as the voice of reason Nao acted as the voice of temptation, Mikoto was in the middle and preferred to ignore them when they started fighting about what she had to do.

Munakata Shiho had found herself in the triangle for a while, after some time she noticed that she wasn't even considered a contender, so she had decided to keep regarding Tate as her oniichan and forget any romantic notions with him; thanks to the carnival she had learnt her lesson. The majority of the student actually admired her; she was the only one who had chances to come unscathed by the romantic drama surrounding Tokiha-san.

At the moment the redhead with the peculiar hairdo was waiting for Mikoto by the doors of the gym. Normally it was the other way around; Mikoto was fast in taking care of her equipment whilst Shiho had to see after the uniforms and swords of all the members. Today, as Mikoto had been chastised by Takeda and she took her time when changing, Shiho had been faster.

"You didn't have to wait for me." Mikoto's voice shocked the redhead, not because it had come as a surprise but because the kendoka sounded defeated.

"He didn't kick you out of the team did he? Cause if he did I will give him a taste of Octopus Kung Fu." Shiho's words worked and the dark haired girl showed a smile.

"Nope. He just gave me a warning." Mikoto adjusted her bokken on her shoulder, never had the wooden sword been as heavy as today.

"I don't understand why he didn't give oniichan a talking to. He was fighting too." Shiho complained while both girls started to walk towards the entrance of Fuuka Gakuen.

"He didn't start the fight, and he mostly defended himself. It was my fault." The dark haired girl noticed the absence of their third member. "Where's Nao?"

"Nao-chan called and said that she will meet us in Lindem Baum." Shiho sighed, the golden eyes looked almost happy if it wasn't by the small circle of sadness that surrounded them (the drama was claiming the first victim). "Apparently Yukariko-san needed to talk to her about something."

--

"She kicked you out?" Shiho's flabbergasted scream brought all the eyes of the restaurant to their table; Nao decided to curse the day that she started to have friends. When the younger redhead noticed that their private conversation wasn't anymore she kept quiet, after some time the patrons decided to go back to their own conversations. "Sorry, she kicked you out?"

"Tch! Always so loud." At seeing the octopus head starting to loose her patience she decided that talking was a safer bet (why had she listened to her mother she really didn't needed friends; but, alas, it was already too late). "She didn't kick me out. Yukariko-san said that if Miyu and I really wanted to join the congregation and wanted to do the training she would give us her support. But she was sure that neither of the two is cut for the sisterhood."

"I'll say." Shiho went back to her ice-cream whereas Nao appreciated the new silence. Mikoto kept quiet she mostly used their time at Lindem Baum to watch Mai work; as Mai had been occupied on another section of the restaurant she hadn't noticed them yet, so Mikoto had simply concentrated on the cup of tea on her hands.

Nao and Miyu had started to work as Sisters on the church mostly out of necessity. Miyu was an android created by SEARRS, so it had took some time to create papers for her and Alyssa and stop the SEARRS Corporation of trying to take any of them and use them for experiments; Nao, instead, had her mother in rehabilitation after her miraculous recovery, so she needed someplace to be in the meantime. Who better to take in such misfits than a pregnant nun?

In the end, after she was released from the hospital, it had been decided that Alyssa and Miyu be put under the care of Yuuki-san; after some papers had been fabricated and some funds from the Kanzahana scholarship had been diverted, the foursome had moved to a nice house so there was no need for Sister Nao and Sister Miyu to torment the students.

"Miyu was talking about getting a job here, so I don't think she's going to go to any training." Commented Nao taking a drink of milk tea (the setback of having a mother: she had been forced to give up coffee). "I don't know what to do."

"Maybe you could join a club? You could join Kuga-san in the athletics club." At Nao's disparaging look Shiho gave a sheepish smile, it was so funny to rile the older redhead. "If you really want to do something, my grandfather is looking for someone to help at the temple the days that I'm on the kendo club."

"Maybe... It doesn't sound like such a bad--." Nao was at the moment the only eye witness at the unfolding scene, Mikoto and Shiho were in front of her, so she wasn't surprised when a happy squeal interrupted her.

"A date?" Higurashi Akane's voice sounded cheerful. And Nao prayed for all the gods she knew that the noticed who was sitting at her table. "I can't believe that Tate finally asked you."

"Yes, yesterday after work. Then he kissed me, it was so romantic." The sound of glass breaking disturbed Mai's words.

The redhead closed her eyes in pain when she noticed from whom the noise had come. Mikoto's right hand was clenched, were before there had been a cup now there were shards, and tea and blood seeped from her hand. The dark haired girl stood up fast and without sparing a look to anyone run away from the restaurant. Shiho didn't know if give chase to Mikoto or to stop Nao who had a murderous look in her eyes.

"You idiot!" Nao let her finger rest on the pool of blood and tea on the table. "You stupid, unfeeling, IDIOT!"

With those last words Nao tossed the droops of blood and tea from her fingers against Mai' face, without staying for an answer the redhead gave chase to Mikoto, Shiho not far from her. Mai didn't move she let her own tears wash the blood from Mikoto's wound. Seconds later and for reason's she couldn't comprehend her legs gave out and she found herself crying as the time when she believed her brother lost forever.

--

By the time both redheads found to Mikoto the girl was on the forest; the hand kept bleeding and she appeared more and more shattered by the second. She was walking from side to side and was grasping her shirt with the bloodied hand; the left side was filled with blood it practically looked as if the girl was bleeding from her heart (it was probably true).

"Mikoto..." Before Nao could say anything a scream resounded on the school forest.

"It's so unfair, so completely unfair! It doesn't matter what Ani-ue and I..." Mikoto covered her eyes with her left hand. "It doesn't matter what I do... It's always him. I killed for her; I killed HIM for her, always to protect her. What did he do?" The eyes were uncovered, tears flowed freely from them and the haunted look cut through Nao and Shiho like a knife. "He didn't do anything! He played with Shiho-chan's feelings, he played with _her_ feelings. Always weak and undecided. While I was strong I always knew that I loved her, Reito-- the Obsidian Lord used that; not my love for my Ani-ue but my love for her. And I lost? I lost."

The last word was barely audible; Mikoto let herself fall against one of the trees. The always happy cat girl was broken; finally the triangle had claimed the first victim. Forest green met orange brown; for a moment the look held, until Shiho rolled her eyes like saying "some day you would have to learn to hug people". The redhead with the peculiar hairdo sat near Mikoto and brought her to her arms. It was going to take their combined efforts and almost an hour before they could convince the kendoka to see a doctor.

* * *

Next Chapter: (Surprise! is a chaptered fict... did you really think it would end like that?) Mikoto finds out the extent of her injuries. Natsuki gets jealous. Shizuru shows up (Whee! ShizNat). Unless someone complains too loud Nao kisses Shiho (or maybe she will in chapter three). And Mai does some thinking.

It will be up in two weeks, with a couple of unrelated one-shots in between... unless Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice create a new writer's block.


	2. Chapter 2

**Peach Blossoms**

By: DarkBlue Mint

Disclaimer: Sunrise's.

Notes: Continuing the game (Han DJ has an extra point so if she guesses she gets two fics) the chara is from a shoujo-mahou manga, has a very special sister, and is a bishi; if no one guesses I'll be very worried about all of you... Before someone asks, Shizuru and Reito are still in the Seitokai, so this is kinda AU or before the events of the end... your choice. Forgive Grammar.

* * *

"Surgery?" Shiho couldn't believe the doctor prognosis. Actually Mikoto's wound was worse than it seemed at the forest; firstly it had started to close on the shirt so after the time the doctors separated the hand from cloth it had started to bleed again. And now, apparently, one of the glass fragments had been close to a nerve or something and Mikoto had barely dodged the chance of losing movement in two of her fingers.

"It sounds worst than what it is; she's wasn't even with full anesthesia. It's just that the procedure it's called that, it's very common." The doctor seemed like a nice guy and very knowledgeable, still Shiho was barely at ease and absolutely worried for her friend. Nao in exchange looked almost used to the hospital (she actually was). "We already called her guardian and her emergency contact; so there's nothing to worry about."

As the doctor left Shiho contemplated that there was reason to worry about, there was no doubt that Mikoto's guardian was, at the moment, Kanzaki Reito (their parents were on a business trip in China); but Mikoto's emergency contact was no other that Tokiha Mai. Still unknown to the two girls Mai had her own wounds to tend to the moment. Nao and Shiho exchanged a look and entered Mikoto's hospital room.

"How are you?" Nao let Shiho start the conversation, she wasn't good at caring and didn't want to say something that would hurt her innocent friend; still even that small question proposed by Shiho had broken Mikoto for tears had started to come from her eyes.

"I'm going to have to be three weeks without using my hand, no kendo for three weeks and the regionals are in two. There's nothing else for me to lose... is there?" Before when the young kendoka was sad about missing Mai those days of the Carnival she had bawled, now her previous outburst and her complete downfall had left her bare of anything but the sad rivers flowing from her eyes. Shiho and Nao stayed until Reito came for her sister, they would have stayed longer but there was really nothing more that they could do.

--

That afternoon, roughly the same time that Minagi Mikoto was mauling (or at least trying to maul) Tate Yuuichi on kendo practice, Kuga Natsuki found herself on the athletics club practice showing that even a former delinquent could be a fast as the wind. Arisato Minato the captain of the club was pleasantly surprised. At the beginning he hadn't trusted the recommendation of the Fujino Shizuru, he was more of the opinion that the members of the Seitokai were more suited to play politics than to talk sports (in all honesty he only thought that the recommendation was mostly because of the rumors surrounding those two, that any real ability from Kuga's part); but, the woman had been right and he wasn't so conceited to not give her thanks the next time he saw the Kaicho.

"Kuga! Good time, you shaved two seconds since your last run. Keep at it and you're going to break my record." The dark haired biker gave a thankful nod at her captain's encouragement and went to grab a bottle; Arisato turned to the rest of the team that also completed the practice. "Ok, people to the showers. Good practice today!"

Arisato was a good captain and Natsuki found herself liking the guy, thanks to that she had gone from hating the idea of being in a club to actually enjoying her time there. It hadn't been her idea to form part of the Athletics Club; actually it had been Shizuru's recommendation that the teachers would form a better opinion of her if she showed some interest on school activities, as she had already several classes to make up for better to have the teacher thinking that she cared... She hadn't actually thought that in the way she was going to stop pretending and actually care for the club and its members. Some of the girls on the club say goodbye to her as she started walking to the dorms, they had learned early on that Natsuki preferred to take her shower in her room than in the gym (they had the suspicion that Natsuki did this to meet with Fujino-kaicho after practice, of course no-one said it out loud).

When nearing the building that housed her room she saw Shizuru talking animatedly with a teal haired girl. Something happened inside of her at witnessing this, some voice inside her screamed that Shizuru didn't have the right to look this happy when talking to someone that wasn't her. She hated that voice. She also hated the feeling of hate that was born to the unknown girl. Didn't the teal haired girl know about the rumors? Those rumors that Natsuki had tried so hard too quiet, those rumors that informed to anyone who wanted to know that Kuga and Fujino were a couple? Natsuki for the first time in all her life wanted those rumors to be true.

The biker shook her head to clear her thoughts with quick strides she passed between both girls, ignoring (or at least trying her best to ignore) Shizuru calling her name, apparently Shizuru had ditched the girl without a second thought at seeing Natsuki. Still Natsuki kept ignoring her and started to walk faster to the stairs, nevertheless she forgot to consider that the kaicho had been a HiME too and before she could go up the stairs the tawny haired girl grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"What was that Natsuki?" The way that Shizuru had posed the question made her believe that she already knew the answer, so Natsuki decided to take a page from Nao's book and act like a brat.

"What was what?" Natsuki actually flinched at her own words, not even Nao would say something so idiotic. But Shizuru had a way of unhinge her that made Natsuki lost in her own brain, so her answers to the girl always came without a thought (that was the reason why she had kissed her in the Carnival). Shizuru decide to ignore the bratish behavior for a second as another idea materialized on her mind.

"The way Natsuki acted it seemed as she had been jealous of Marguerite-san." And that notion made the Kaicho smile; it was such a nice idea to have her wolf acting possessively.

"Jealous? Of what? How you smile and talk and flirt with every girl that says hello to you?" It hadn't been the first time she saw Shizuru talking to someone when she was supposed to wait for her, this was only the first time that Shizuru and her had actually talked about it, mostly and for some reason (like the fact that Natsuki preferred to ignore her feelings) the didn't talk about it. "You know all this makes me doubt that you're in love with me."

"Are you belittling my feelings for you?" The Kaicho actually felt as she had been slapped. "Natsuki I confessed everything to you after the Carnival, you decided to ignore it, you... Natsuki didn't want a relationship with me. What do you expect me to do?" She was actually getting mad to her wolf; the composed girl was losing her patience and letting show a sliver of the girl she had been at the Carnival.

"Give me time!" Those words didn't only surprised Shizuru (and took all the anger from her) but also surprised the same biker who had uttered them. Apparently talking without thinking wasn't that bad, those words helped to make a decision about what to say. "I wanted time." Natsuki sat herself on the steps of the stairs, rested her elbows on her knees and her head on her hands and kept talking to a stunned Shizuru. "I ignored my feeling for so long, Shizuru... I think they were atrophied, and you wanted me to know exactly how I felt for you when I hardly knew anything. I needed time; just I think I didn't know how to ask for it."

"Does Natsuki still needs time?" At hearing the tenderness on her friend's voice Natsuki looked up. Shizuru had a soft smile that confessed all her feelings and that exclaimed to her that if she needed time away she will gladly give it.

"Yes." The wolf said getting up, a contented smile on her face, and walking the two steps that separated from the Kaicho. "But I think that now I need to share that time with you." The beaming smile on Shizuru's face made those corny words worth it.

"Can I kiss you, or at least hug you?" Almost pleading words that convinced Natsuki she had made the right choice for the first time (thinking things through was overrated).

"Ne, Shizuru I want to hug you too but I'm all sweaty from practice and--." Before she could complete the sentence Shizuru brought her to her and surrounded her with her arms, she buried her face on midnight tresses and didn't care about the sweat, or the fact that they were in a public hallway and people could come and see them like this at any second (and if they did there wasn't going to be any way to stop the rumors); she just cared about this perfect girl in her arms that finally returned her feelings and that there was no way that this could be more perfect. Then Natsuki separated from her a little and kissed her passionately and completely and Shizuru knew that she had been wrong.

--

The afternoon sun illuminated the room in an orange glow, a figure rested as uncomfortably as she could on the floor hugging her knees and hiding herself from reality, or at least trying to. After the scene on Linden Baum, Akane had asked the boss to allow her to bring Mai to her room; the redhead was almost catatonic following the events. All the way to the dorms the brunette had tried to get her friend to talk only to be ignored, something very big had broke inside of Mai but Akane doubted that she knew that it had been her own hearth.

When the call from the hospital came she answered and explained to Mai what the doctors said, this made the busty girl cry again knowing that Mikoto was hurt worst than they believed. Akane used Mai's phone to call Reito and explain the situation to him, she was sure that she was the only human being on earth that had heard Reito not as the forever tranquil Fuku-Kaicho but as a simple eighteen year old boy thoroughly worried for his little sister and guilty about the situation that he helped to construct. Akane had wanted to keep company to Mai longer, but Kazu-kun had called and told her that their boss wanted her back and Mai had insisted that it was worth nothing that the both of them lost a day of work.

So now here was Mai, against the wall, on the floor, trying to understand what was happening to her, trying to comprehend the screams of her own hear, her own tears (as she once before tried to figure out Mikoto's tears). And begging that a sword or another punishment to befall her after hurting such a gentle soul as Mikoto's. Apparently it was very possible for a heart to break without the person knowing why.

--

The temple was mostly dark as night had already fallen, the Munakata temple was a far away from the hospital and yet both redheads had decided to walk instead of taking the bus; by the time that Reito had gotten to the hospital the sun had started to set so now they climbed the steps with only the moon as company. Neither girl had exchanged a word, and although Shiho had been surprised to find Nao coming with her she hadn't questioned her. They had barely made it under the Torii Gate when Nao uttered the first words.

"It's all so damn unfair." Shiho was quick to notice that the forest eyed girl had tears on her eyes. So she got near her, and giving her time to step back, she hugged the older girl, Nao instead of refusing let herself be comforted. "I mean the both of them are such idiots!"

"It's alright, Nao." Shiho separated herself from her and started to clean the tears with her thumbs. "You're actually a very sensitive girl aren't you?"

"Tch! Shut up, octopus" The tears were receding and a playful smile appeared on her face.

"Delinquent." Said Shiho with a small laugh, and didn't notice that she was still holding Nao with one arm and caressing her cheek with her thumb.

"Brat." But Nao noticed, and something stirred inside her and she lost control (she actually never had control before but at least she could pretend).

"Evil sp--." And Nao kissed her, under the moon and the Torii gate of her family temple Munakata Shiho was being kissed by one of the infamous delinquents of Fuuka Gakuen (and she was actually enjoying it). The kiss could have go on the rest of the night without Shiho minding it, but Nao's eyes opened and widened and she separated her lips hastily from the young red head.

"Shit!" If the house part of the temple had been closer Shiho was sure that her grandfather would have woken but they were lucky. Forest green met orange brown and they held for a while, however before Shiho could say anything the older girls used the remnants of her HiME powers to jump down the stairs of the temple, and ran as if the devil was chasing her.

Shiho for her part looked at the moon and laughed, first her oniichan and now Nao... her heart was really an idiot. Still with a sad smile on her face she walked to her room, she had resigned herself so long ago to lose in love (it was almost poetic that the Miko in a temple of love was so unlucky) that this didn't hurt her. It really didn't hurt a bit; the tears were only because she knows she lost a friend.

* * *

Next Chapter: (This is going to be five chapters long so three more to the end.) Nao gets help from her mother and Miyu. Natsuki and Akane beat some sense into Mai. Shizuru goes to Reito's house and finds Mikoto. Shiho and Tate have a heart to heart. Akane is happy that Kazu wasn't as complicated as those girls. Next chapter in two weeks.

More Notes: The part about wounds closing on cloth happened to me once; I used a towel to cover an injury in my wrist ((17+Idiot) + Angry... I hit a window... mathematics work for everything), the wound started closing with the towel there and to take it out they had to reopen the wound, it was really painful...

Before my plans were to make ShizNat suffer a little, but then I decided to make Shiho and Nao suffer instead... that and someone had to serve as a counter point to all the pain that Mikoto is has. About Reito losing his cool, is my experience that brothers often loose their cool when their little sisters are hurt.

Arisato Minato is the name given to the Main Character of Persona 3 in the manga, I included his cause I needed a captain and I didn't wanted to create a character.


	3. Chapter 3

**Peach Blossoms**

By: DarkBlue Mint

Disclaimer: Still not mine, please try again.

Notes: So as Cross-san said the chara was Kinomoto Touya; now next contest, knowing that my favorite Seiyuu are Tanaka Rie, Nogawa Sakura and Shimizu Ai (in that order) can you guess my favorite singer? (And really it's incredibly easy so if no one guesses I'm gonna stop writing this fict). There's a poll concerning this series in my profile go answer it, it will be closed by Friday night.

* * *

Yuuki Rie had always been a calm woman, even before the accident that left her in a coma for some years she had constantly been patient; when her daughter told her about the happenings of the Carnival she had been calm and comforting whenever her little one confessed her crimes (she had the idea that those were not really crimes as all of the poor girls had been under the influence of that damn star), and when some weeks after she had heard about the situation that Miyu Greer and Alyssa Searrs she had used her cool head to go to Himeno-san and offer to take care of both of them (something had made both girls grateful about and her little princess a little jealous). Very little fazed her so when the door of their home was quickly opened and fast and loudly closed she was as serene as ever.

"Nao-chan what did I tell you about banging the doors?" She let her voice carry from the kitchen, where she was preparing dinner with the aid of Miyu, to the lounge where her little angel seemed to still be; actually by the sound she seemed to be pacing in there and cursing rather loudly (she hopped that Alyssa that was doing homework in her room couldn't hear that vocabulary). "Nao-chan what did I tell you about using those words when in home?" When she finished exiting the kitchen to scold her, she saw that her daughter apart from being cursing was also crying and had a desperate look on her eyes, very little fazed Yuuki Rie, seeing her daughter cry was one of those things. "Nao-chan, what happened? All you alright?"

"I did something so wrong... My God! Why did I...?" With those words the younger redhead let herself fall on her knees while grabbing her head. "I'm such an... Why!?"

"Has Nao-san gone to hunt child molesters again without backup?" Miyu supplied seriously, the last time that Nao had came home that disturbed it had been for that reason, although she hadn't cried that time she had indeed cursed herself and everyone else in the world. As the girl kept crying she couldn't help to be more uncomfortable, she was a battle android; she didn't know how to act in these situations. "Yuuki-san I will continue with the food preparations." At seeing the warning look on the older woman face she thought prudently to correct herself. "I'm sorry... Mama." With those word the former battle android and now daughter left the room to continue preparing dinner (and no one could see the happy smile on her face at knowing that she belonged to a family that cared about her and her ojou-sama, even thought Nao pretended not to).

"Nao-chan, what happened?" After her older daughter left the room (at least older in appearance), she let herself go to the floor and embrace Nao, the little redhead clutched to her and kept crying the only moment she had seen her like that had been when she confessed about the Carnival. She really felt herself hurt with her little girl and wanted to know what to do to take away the pain. After some minutes the tears subsided and Nao seemed to be a little more calm.

"I... Mikoto got hurt today, it's not bad, but she would not be able to use a bokken in time for the regionals." Rie understood that, although she didn't seemed it outwardly Nao was a very sensitive girl and things like having a friend be hurt would drive her to tears (when she had been a little girl she had cried when her papa had killed a spider). "And I kissed Shiho." That of course was unexpected, and the small voice that her daughter had used to inform about this fact, let her know that this was really the problem that had sent her to tears. "And then I ran away."

Rie thought that laughing when her girl seemed to be too distraught wasn't going to be well received, but the scene seemed from a soap opera or a teenage drama, and she could barely contain herself. The fact that Nao had a pout on her face let her know that she hadn't been that good in hiding her humor about the situation; still the younger redhead was smiling now and giggling at hearing herself describe the situation.

"You have feeling for Shiho-chan?" Nao looked at the opposite wall and Rie smiled again. "Do you want to talk about it?" This time the redhead reacted by denying with her head. "Ok, it's almost time for dinner; so why don't you and Alyssa-chan take a bath and then come and help set the table?" Nao got up from the floor and help her to stand, and then she started to walk to the stairs leading to the rooms. "Nao-chan, I know that you got used to be alone but if you want to talk I will always be here. What's more you have two sisters now, and they are good girls, so you are not alone. You understand?"

Nao stopped halfway on the stairs, the crying girl was gone and the roughish smile of the school delinquent adorned her face. "I'm alright, Mama." With that she started to take the stairs to at a time. "Oy! Alyssa-chan it's time for the bath, and then we will see what Miyu uses to poison us tonight!"

The sparkling giggle from Alyssa's room and the "I'll never poison ojousama" that came from the kitchen let Rie know that even if things weren't alright, they were going to be very soon.

--

The morning sun entered the window, and only because it's light was different from the orange glow from the afternoon one could say that some time had happened since Mai had decided to sit on the floor and think. Actually thinking wasn't what she was doing she was wallowing, grieving for reason that were hidden for her. She actually would still be like that, seated in the floor hugging her knees, if the door to her room wasn't forcefully opened and Kuga Natsuki and Higurashi Akane entered the room.

"Ok, this is stupid. Get up, take a shower, and go to class." When Kuga-san, who next to Yuuki Nao was, one of the most infamous delinquents of the school told you to go to class was a sign of the apocalypse (and that you were being incredibly pathetic). Of course for the catatonic redhead Natsuki could have been telling her that she was going to dance in the Bolshoi. Natsuki turned to the other girl, which had closed the door so there weren't witnesses to the intervention. "She's worse than you told me."

"Mai-chan, have you moved at all since I left you here?" Akane's tone was tender, as if she was talking to a frightened child or a scared animal; Natsuki wondered why she hadn't let her speak since the beginning (she was a little tactless).

"I think so?" Mai's voice sounded raspy, she was sure that she had gone to the bathroom at least twice. "I threw up, I didn't feel so good. I don't understand why; why I'm feeling this much pain?"

Both classmates exchanged a look. Most people, most witnesses of this triangle (Akane was sure that after yesterday, Reito didn't considered himself a contestant) thought that the feelings of the busty redhead went to Tate Yuuichi; and yet if you ask any HiME that knew Tokiha Mai and Minagi Mikoto would give a very different answer. Natsuki put her hands on Mai's shoulders.

"Mai, do you remember Duran? You remember his size during the Carnival?" Mai let her amethyst eyes find Natsuki's emerald ones; not only her but also Akane wanted to see where the Ice-Princess was going with this talk. "He was pretty small wasn't he?" Mai nodded, and Natsuki's smile turned tender. "When I thought that my feelings of revenge were my most important he was so small... but when I realized that Shizuru was my most important person, you didn't saw him Mai, but he was massive, as big a Kagutsuchi." Mai flinched at hearing her Child's name; she actually missed him very much (Akane and Natsuki also reacted remembering their Childs). "You understand what I'm telling you? Kagutsuchi was always so big and your powers were always the stronger; do you remember what was happening when they manifested?" Comprehension started to appear in Mai's amethyst eyes. "Do you remember who you were protecting?"

"Mi-Mikoto?" A lurching pain started in her chest at thinking of the hurt kendoka, her heart was trying to tell her something but now it had help. "This pain... this pain is for her?"

"You love her Mai-chan." Natsuki nodded at Akane's statement. And a smile appeared in Mai's face at those words, she felt so relieved that tears came from her eyes and she slid from the wall to lie on the floor.

"I love her... I think you are right." Mai looked at both girls as if they had all the answers. "And she loves me too, right?"

"The girl did everything to tell you, except maybe shout it from the rooftops." Akane said with a smile, happy that her friend had left the catatonic state.

"Actually she did shout it from the rooftops." Offered Natsuki; remembering the time when the kendoka had screamed 'I love Mai' while letting herself fall from the roof of Nao's house, the day that the damn spider had moved.

"But I hurt her. I loved her and still I hurt her so much." The redhead covered her face with her hand and cried again; this time neither of her friends knew what to do.

--

Nao and Miyu were walking to the school, just some moments ago they had dropped off Alyssa in the part of the Fuuka Gakuen campus that housed her school. Nao was still surprised about how her life had changed lately; before Aoi was the only person that worried about getting her to school on time, today she had woken with a blonde girl shaking her and a materialized sword near her neck (Miyu informed her that Mama had say to wake her at any cost). More estrange for her was that while leaving her in school Alyssa had given Miyu the customary kiss in the cheek, and then had tugged Nao until she was at her level and done the same to her (actually the more bizarre thing had been that the blonde said goodbye stating: "Goodbye Miyu-onesama, Nao-onesama").

"Is Nao-san alright?" Miyu asking about her wasn't weird; the cyan haired android had made an effort of making small talk while walking to school after a day that Nao declared creepy to walk in silence. Nao only shrugged dismissively. "I just wanted to say that if you need to talk-."

"I know I'm not alone." The redhead interrupted.

"No, we are not alone anymore." Before Nao could change the subject she continued. "And Munakata-san is a good friend and a good person."

"Say Miyu, you start working at Linden Baum next week, right?" Miyu had predicted a 96 percent of probabilities of Nao changing the subject, so she only nodded in confirmation and let her do so. "What do you say if today Sister Nao and Sister Miyu console the lost souls of Fuuka Gakuen for one last time?" the cyan haired android let her eyes drift to the sky, but still Nao saw. "Why Sister Miyu, is that an evil smirk on your face?"

And after causing more trouble for Yukariko-san, she was going to certain temple to talk about a certain job (and in any way she was hopping to see certain redhead girl with orange brown eyes).

--

Tate Yuuichi had being informed at midmorning that his self-proclaimed sister had missed the day of school; he had also been worried about Mai, but a quick message from Natsuki to his mobile let him know that if went near their dorm his life was in danger. The blonde kendoka decided not to take chances and opted to leave school at lunch to visit Shiho; he wasn't one to admit it loudly but he did loved the redhead with the peculiar hairstyle as if they shared blood, that had been the reason why a relationship with her seemed ludicrous to him (he wasn't a very big fan of incest).

As he was going up the stairs he looked up and saw the girl he had wanted to see; she was sitting in the last step, just under the Torii Gate, and was wearing her uniform and had her bag next to her like if she was going to school and at the last moment decided not to.

"Shiho, I was worried about you. Your classmates told me that you weren't in school." Shiho let her eyes lift and saw him as if she was trying to recognize him or trying to see something in him, then they moved away and seemed to go to some lost point in the sky.

"Nao kissed me." Tate's eye widened at hearing this and he let himself fall next to her.

"Wow. That was unexpected." The redhead at his side only nodded, her eyes still lost. "Do you like her?"

"I don't think it matters." A sad smile showed on her face. "I think I do, she's nice... don't look at me like that, she's actually a nice person she just hides it well." She ignored Tate's quip of 'really well'. "These last months of friendship were so nice, and I do like her... It's just I have very bad luck in love don't I?"

"I love you, Shiho. Just not as you wanted, you are my little sister and I never saw you as anything else." He felt like an ass for not saying this before. "I'm sorry I didn't explain myself before."

Both childhood friends shared the silence for a while; without words Shiho finally forgave her Oniichan, and Tate was glad that he didn't loose a person that had been with him in his most dark time. Still something nagged in Shiho's conscience something that she needed to tell him before it was to late, she didn't want him to hurt as she had before.

"Oniichan, there's something you need to know. Mikoto got hurt yesterday and..." She was quickly interrupted by Tate.

"I know; I was going to talk to Mai and tell her to postpone our date until Mikoto-chan recovered." And now it was Shiho interrupting him.

"Tate, please hear me out and don't interrupt. Mikoto got hurt and I think because of that Mai-san is going to learn something that all HiMEs know." She got herself in front of him and put her hand on his cheek giving him a small consoling caress. "You were my important person during the Carnival, Oniichan, that's why when Mikoto defeated Yatagarasu you disappeared; when the important person to a HiME disappears she looses her powers, and yet..." Shiho sighed, Tate seemed to understand where she was going with this, but she didn't want to take any chances so she continued along. "And yet Mai-san kept her powers. If you were her most important person she would not have been able to call forth Kagutsuchi."

"And the only one around at that time was Mikoto." Tate's voice sounded defeated, but he had actually suspected something like this; Mai's smiles were always brighter when the kendoka was with her (he should have known). "You all knew?"

"We suspected." Confirmed Shiho, they decided without words to miss the rest day of school and share the silence.

--

"I'm sorry to intrude." The polite voice of the Kaicho, Fujino Shizuru, said when Kanzaki Reito let her in his. "Suzushiro-san wanted to bring the papers herself but I convinced her that it would be better for me to do it. I think I surprised when I offered to do work."

"I should thank you then for saving from the loud tones of Suzushiro-san. Could I offer you some tea?" At Shizuru's polite nod the Fuku-Kaicho let himself go to the kitchen.

Shizuru for her part went to the living room; she had already been in the Kanzaki house enough time to be familiar with the layout. When entering the room she saw something that surprised, Minagi Mikoto was in front of the window; not that her presence was weird (although it kind of was) after Reito had informed his parents that he knew he had a sister they had confirmed it, and informed him that she had been given to their grandfather at his insistence (they also confirmed ties to the First District but he ignored that part).

When the girl was brought to them, their mother had started to pamper her and their father had been pleased to now have a Kendo fan in the house (although Reito was fine with a sword he didn't love it in the way that his father and his sister did). Still even though the girl had been offered a place in the family and in the home, she still preferred to spend her time in the presence of Tokiha, and from there was Shizuru's surprise borne. The catlike kendoka's right hand was bandaged and she remembered rumors about and incident in Linden Baum the previous day.

"She had been like this since I brought her here from the hospital yesterday." If Reito's voice surprised her she didn't let it show, and let herself be guided to the dinning room. "One part of me wants to hit me in the head for having a hand in causing her pain, the rest wants to find Tate-kun and Mai-san and... I'm sorry."

"It's alright one is free to talk about whatever one wants among friends." And although still preoccupied with thoughts about her best friend sister, she let a happy smile show on her face. "I actually came to inform you about a change in my relationship status."

"Don't tell me that Kuga-san has finally seen the light." Both friends shared a smile and Reito seemed glad for the distraction. In the living room Mikoto kept watching through the window and wondering what more she could have done to make Mai love her.

--

After school, among the under of students leaving Fuuka Gakuen to go to their homes or run to their part time jobs, a couple walked kindly towards Lindem Baum. Suddenly the girl stopped, and looping her arms around her boyfriend's neck gave him a passionate kiss (that made him check if he had a nosebleed). A goofy smile showed on his face at hearing other students catcalling and telling him he was a 'lucky dog'.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that about?" Kurauchi Kazuya asked his girlfriend Higurashi Akane.

"Nothing; I'm just really happy that you are such an uncomplicated and lovable boyfriend." The former HiME answered.

"I will say the same to you, but you almost cut my head last week because I talked to you while in your period." At seeing his girlfriend murderous look and pouting cheeks, he smiled tenderly. "I love you, Akane-chan."

"I love you too, Kazu-kun. But just for that comment you are taking me to some place expensive next Saturday." The boy only put his arm around the girl's shoulders and both kept walking to their part time job (he already had planed to take her out Saturday).

* * *

Next Chapter: (I think this is the longest chapter that I wrote... ever!) Marguerite-san shows up again to the bane of Natsuki. Shizuru discovers that there's nothing more dangerous than a jealous wolf. Mai and Mikoto are forced to talk. Nao kisses Shiho again (and this time she stays a little longer). Takeda and Tate talk (small scene I promise).

More Notes: The name of Nao's mother was the reason why this chapter almost isn't written, at first I was going to use the name that Han DJ had given her, but I didn't want people calling me a plagiarist (that and I wasn't sure if I could get a hold of Han quickly enough), in the end it was solved by the poster of Suigintou that it's in the ceiling over my computer (actually I have the ceiling over my computer wallpapered in Anime pictures, I wanted to put one of Kirijo Mitsuru today but my brother stole my ladder). That poster also gave me the idea for the new contest. Speaking of incest, yeah I know the scene already passed, has anyone seen Candy Boy? That Anime is amazing.

While I was writing the scene between Mai and Natsuki one of my favorite songs sounded in the radio (Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic) and the scene particularly wrote itself, I never thought that music could be such a big help; you'll never guess what scene was written at the sound of the Beach Boys.


	4. Chapter 4

**Peach Blossoms  
**By: DarkBlue Mint

Disclaimer: I own the DVDs, some drama CDs that I don't understand, and a pretty cool keychain.

Notes: So I have been plagued with a writer's block, luckily I had help from Heart-san; although most of the chapters are written in drafts (that way is more like developing a picture than writing something from scratch) I still have to write them, something that's kinda hard when you only look the pointer appear and disappear. Anyway, the question that I made was answered by KugaElisa in a PM and WolfNightwind in a review for another fic, so they have until next chapter to claim their prizes (Rhonda-san answered after so I'm sorry?).

* * *

Tomoe Marguerite had a plan; it wasn't a world conquest plan (although if one considered the perfection of Fujino Shizuru, it could very well be). For reason of that plan she was that night waiting for the object of her dreams and her desires; she was outside the building assigned to the kaicho. As luck will have it, it wasn't the gorgeous kaicho the one that came to her but the stupid biker who had interrupted them yesterday.

Kuga Natsuki was coming back from self imposed mission, she didn't know what was going to happen between those two now, but she figured that Kanzaki could control them if something extreme happened, the guy was like Shizuru he probably had the magic powers to control people just like her girlfriend (now she was trying to forget how the Obsidian Lord had used those power to manipulate her Shizuru).

The moment she got close to Shizuru's (and her, Mai and Mikoto) dorm building she saw a sight that made her blood boil. After yesterday she had started to pay a little more attention to rumors; and today, before being drafted by Akane to help Mai, Harada Chie had informed her that the desires of Marguerite-san for the Kaicho were legendary (apparently the girl had even joined the Tea Ceremony Club).

"Marguerite-san, is there something I can help you with?" She said with false politeness, it wouldn't do to lose her cool in front of this woman. "If I know correctly your dorm building is in the other side."

"I am waiting for Fujino-san, Kuga-san." The teal haired girl answered with cold a smile.

"If you see her, tell her that I'll wait with the bath ready." With those words she showed the unnerving girl the key of Shizuru's room (the Kaicho had decided that Natsuki didn't need to share her room with Mai and Mikoto any longer… not that they had done something… nevermind).

"You think she really loves you?" Those words made Natsuki stop cold. "She's the one who called me yesterday. And when we have club meetings she's always near me." The cold smile became evil. "She's going to be with you for a while. And then, after the novelty wears off, she's going to come to--." Tomoe had to stop as Natsuki grabbed her by the neck.

"Listen to me well. You can do that?" The girl nodded, eyes filled with fear (she hadn't know that you should never cross a HiME). "You get near her, you touch her, you talk to her… I'll kill you." With those words she let go of the girl. "And don't bother to accuse me of something; I have friends in high places." She started to walk away but stopped before closing the doors of the building. "And quit that damn club."

--

After sharing some tea and conversation with Reito, Shizuru went back to the classroom that the Seitokai occupied (it wouldn't do to have Suzushiro-san screaming at her). Today had been one of the most tiring days, it was near the time of graduation so several members of the Seitokai were getting ready to pass the baton to new people (she had chosen to endorse Yukino-chan candidature, something that made the girl win by a landslide).

After she had been made to sign more papers that she cared to read, guiding Yukino through her new responsibilities (with interruptions by Suzushiro-san), and receiving a mail from Marguerite-san informing her she was quitting the Tea Ceremony Club; Shizuru was ready to leave and get to her room, were she could lie in her Natsuki's arms (something she had done last night). So in a perfect show of manipulation she made Haruka and Yukino promise to complete the rest of the work that befell on her, and left to go to her room.

Her first thought at entering the room was that Natsuki wasn't there; the room was dark and silent, too silent. That thought was quickly proved wrong, as some seconds later she found herself pressed roughly against the door; Natsuki's eyes were burning into her, her arms at each side stopping her from moving, and her body pushing into hers even though they weren't touching (she could barely contain her libido response).

"If you are going to be doing things like that, I really doubt that our relationship will get anywhere." The fury that was dripping from Natsuki's voice, and the threat she had given her scared her, even though she was trying not to show it (you never show a wild beast you are scared of them); still she didn't understand what her girlfriend was talking about.

"What is Natsuki talking abo--" She was interrupted before she could finish the last word.

"Tomoe! All those girls that you always surround yourself with." The look on Natsuki's face changed to despair, Shizuru wanted to console her but she was afraid to move. "I don't think I can compete for your attention Shizuru." And those sadness tainted words jolt Shizuru into action.

As quickly and strong as she could she hug her little wolf; Natsuki's fight left her and she, along with Shizuru, fell to her knees. Normally her attempts of using her fan club to make Natsuki jealous were to make the biker react to her feelings for her. She hadn't take in account that once they started dating, those actions could hurt her wolf (to think there wasn't even a day they started dating).

"I'm sorry, Natsuki." She felt like crying. "Natsuki doesn't have to compete with anyone; she knows I love her more than anything." They spend sometime in silence after those words from Shizuru, until the Kaicho noticed that the girl that had her head on her shoulder wasn't crying but laughing. "Natsuki!?" Had she finally broke her wolf?

"It's just… I'm pretty sure that Tomoe isn't going to talk to you anymore after I put the fear of God into her." After hearing her girlfriend's voice telling her that she loved her, al the fear and doubts had left her (though the jealousy still swam in her mind).

"Could it be that Natsuki is the reason why Marguerite-san sent me an e-mail informing me her quitting of the club?" Natsuki simple nodded against her neck. "So, it will seem that Natsuki is a very jealous person."

"Only with what is mine." Was the serious answer from the wolf.

"That means that I'm Natsuki's?" Again a nod against her neck, this time accompanied by a kiss (she was really happy with this playful Natsuki). "Should I start calling you mistress?" At those words Natsuki separated from her and she could see the blush on the dark haired girl's face.

"I like it more when you call me your Natsuki." Now the blush went to the Kaicho's face and Natsuki marked a point in her favor (sadly she was still losing in the point tally).

"Natsuki does know what happens now, doesn't she?" Shizuru said when her small blush subsided, seeing her Natsuki questioning look she provided an answer. "We just had our first fight, so accordingly Natsuki and I need to have make-up sex." Natsuki became so red that she was sure that, apart from her nose, she would also bleed from her eyes and ears.

"Th-th-That was barely a fight! You didn't scream at me or anything, and it only lasted like a whole minute." The biker was trying to put some distance between the two of them.

"Natsuki is so bad, how could she think that I will cheat on her with Marguerite-san?" Natsuki raised an eyebrow in doubt. "There I shouted at Natsuki, now it's a fight… let's make up."

"If people saw you like this you will stop having any fans." Natsuki's voice pronounced while she got up from the floor and helped her girlfriend to do the same; then a smirk showed on her face. "Actually, I think you'll end up with other kind of fans." Shizuru laughed and didn't mention again her previous idea; so she was surprised when Natsuki guided her to the room and threw her on the bed. "Still the idea of claiming what's mine sounds very nice."

Before the light haired girl could say anything else she felt Natsuki on top of her, and even if she wanted to said anything after that the passionate kiss that her wolf gave her made every coherent thought (apart from those about Natsuki) leave her mind. Natsuki spent the rest of night showing that inventive, imagination and enthusiasm could make up for lack of experience (not that Shizuru was that experienced, Natsuki was her first). Shizuru for her part showed that even amazing Kaicho passed out when put against a wolf's passion.

--

Not ten minutes after Fujino Shizuru had left, the door of the Kanzaki residence was forcefully knocked; Reito was surprised that at opening the door he found one Kuga Natsuki looking decisive and a Tokiha Mai looking completely destroyed. At seeing the woman looking as torn as his sister he felt his hate ebb away; Mai was after all as much a victim as Mikoto, the girl hadn't choose to be put in the middle of a triangle (although her indecision and denial to see what was true had hurt everyone).

A couple of hours after Akane and Natsuki irrupted on Mai's room, the biker decided that it will be better that Akane went back to class, it wouldn't do to have both of them missing the day of school (that and as they were classmates Akane could take notes for her). After making Mai take a bath and forcing her to eat something, she guided the redhead to her bike and drove her to the Kanzaki's house (it said a lot of the waitress state of mind that she had barely put up a fight at Natsuki's orders).

"Kuga-san, Mai-san, what can I do for you?" Reito preferred to act politely instead of trying to guess what where the both of them doing in his home.

"Kanzaki." Natsuki nodded in greeting, and then grabbed the arm of Mai to stop any escaping attempt. "Is Mikoto here?" Reito nodded firmly, at that Mai reacted and tried to leave, but Natsuki's foresight didn't allow her to put her plan to work. "Good, these two need to talk; you have a problem with that?"

"Not at all Kuga-san, I actually agree with you." Reito said, traces of his typical smile forming on his face. "If you follow me, my sister is in the living room."

Natsuki and a reluctant Mai followed Reito; the biker didn't let her grip slip not even when they were taking off their shoes. The moment they entered the room where Mikoto was still looking at the window, the kendoka seemed to notice her there and golden eyes found amethyst almost instantly, Mai took her eyes away, she could barely stand that sad look; she instead watched the bandaged hand, where some blood seemed to have tainted the bandages (she felt the nausea come back, she had hurt the innocent girl so much), she ran to the younger girl and carefully took the wounded hand between hers.

"Because of me Mikoto is hurt." The redhead said miserably and before she tried to apologize, Mikoto started talking.

"The hand's nothing." She took one of Mai's hands with her healthy hand and put it over her heart. "Mai hurt me here, and the pain is so much, so much… I wanted to tell Mai that I love her, I wanted Mai tell me that she loved me too."

Although the dark haired girl's words were absent of feelings her eyes were crying. Mai, for her part was openly sobbing and crying, she could barely contain the pain in her heart, a heart that had been unheard for so long and now that it's feeling were known it could be too late. Mai fell to her knees, and buried her head on the sitting Mikoto's belly, her right hand clutching the shirt over Mikoto's heart (a mirror image of what the kendoka had done yesterday with her injured hand).

"I'm sorry, Mikoto… please forgive me, I didn't know… I didn't know." At seeing her love crying so desolately Mikoto held her to her, she was going to forgive anything from Mai, she loved her too much to see her sad.

At seeing Mikoto hugging Mai, Reito and Natsuki both felt as if they were intruding so they left the alone. Reito sighed, he was sure that his little sister hadn't seen it yet, but he had noticed Mai's love for the cat in every word from her. As he kept accompanying Kuga to the door he couldn't help to look at the ceiling and sigh at what he had lost.

"She was her first kiss, you can't compete against that." He was surprised at hearing Natsuki's word, to the point that it took him a while to slip his mask back on; now he understood why the biker had took his best friend heart while not even trying.

"It may not look like it, but I care enough for my sister to quit Mai if I know it'll bring her happiness." Then he looked pointedly at Natsuki's green eyes. "She may not look like but she can be easily broken." Natsuki knew that he wasn't talking about his sister anymore (and she was actually glad that someone was willing to protect her Shizuru). "She's my best friend and if I see her hurt… you can guess what will happen to you, Kuga-san."

"Always a pleasure to talk to you, Kanzaki." She said simply while sliding her shoes on. "Keep an eye on those two. Don't let them leave until they are looking stupidly on each others eyes."

"Thanks for dropping by, Kuga-san. And I'm sorry that I could not offer you some tea, your girlfriend was here before describing how you look into her eyes." With that Reito let the door close behind her, a small smile on his lips (damn, Kanzaki! Making her blush like that).

--

Nao and Miyu had only lasted a total of forty-five minutes after class, in their last day as nuns. Alyssa had been sitting to them and kept laughing at the advice they gave to the lost souls of Fuuka; their fun had come to an end when a guy accused them to Yukariko-san after they convinced her girlfriend to break up with him and start dating Takeda. The three barely new sisters walked home together, until the moment that Nao told them she was going to Shiho's temple.

Getting there she found, to her surprise, Tate Yuuichi sitting next to the girl with the peculiar hairdo; both talking friendly. Something burned in her stomach, but she decided to ignore it and started to go up the stairs. At seeing her approaching Tate got up, said something to Shiho and went down the stairs; the moment that Nao was close enough to hear him, but Shiho wasn't, he started talking.

"You play with her feelings, or hurt her just because you want to have fun or something, I swear I'll hunt you down and kill you." And before she could answer he turned waved goodbye to his childhood friend and ran down the stairs, he was late for Kendo (and he didn't want to give her a chance of saying something).

Nao didn't know if to take the threat as real or simply laugh; it was true that they had lost most of their HiME powers, but they were still far from ordinary humans, and yet Tate had confronted Kanzaki while he was possessed by the Obsidian Lord. The former mistress of Julia shook her head and got closer to Shiho, all the while trying to get her right hand to stop trembling (when the hell had she became like Kuga? She bet the wolf also got like that when she saw Shizuru and… why had she compared this to that?)

"Hello Nao." Shiho said simply a smile on her lips. "Did Oniichan say something to you? I could hear him talking but I couldn't understand."

"No, he just asked how I was" Nao quickly lied, she was sure that Tate didn't want Shiho knowing what he said (Oniichan? Had she already lost her chance with the Miko?) "I- I came for the offer you made the other day, about working here. Today was my last day as a nun and I doubt that now Yukariko-san will take me back, so I was thinking that I should talk to your grandfather now and not let it drag on…" Oh, gods! She was rambling (she hadn't became Kuga, she was like Aoi whenever her former roommate talked about Harada!).

"Grandfather isn't here right now, if you want you could wait with me inside? I can offer you some tea." How was it that the octopus was so calm when she could barely contain herself?

Shiho got up from where she was sitting on the steps and started to guide her to the housing part of the temple, she hadn't taken two steps when she stopped abruptly; it took Nao a moment to figure why. Both of them were basically in the same positions then last night, exactly in the point under the Torii Gates where she had kissed the long haired redhead. Before she could stop herself she grabbed the younger girl's arm, brought her to her and kissed her again.

"You didn't run away this time." Shiho smiled when the short kiss was over.

"Well, you are griping my shirt, I doubt I can run that easily with an octopus hanging on to me." At Nao's words she noticed that she was exactly doing that. "I- I- I'm… I'm… damn!"

"It's alright, but if you kiss me and run again I will make you a victim of my octopus kung-fu." After that warning Shiho giggled happily and Nao couldn't stop the impulse of kissing her again.

--

The Kendo club was mostly empty at this time of day, it had some slow people who were in the process of changing or taking care of their shinai, because of that the club tended to be silent, that was the exact reason why Tate Yuuichi had chosen that place to continue his meditations. He had come here after Nao had gotten to the temple, grabbed a shinai and started practice, an hour and a half ago. The guy was at the moment too concentrated in his thought's to even think about stopping, something that Takeda noticed immediately.

"Tate-san if you keep like this you're going to hurt. I already lost one of my best kendoka; I'm not going to let you do the same." He noticed how Tate seemed defeated, as if he had already lost the Kendo match; still the boy stopped and started to put away his shinai, so Takeda started to walk to the other members of the club, it was time he closed the door, everyone had to leave.

"How did you let go of your feeling for Kuga?" The question made him look at the guy (he suspected that the little cat was going to win the game).

"I didn't let go of my feelings." He answered simply; Tate still was looking at him questioningly. "I let go of my desires, after I saw that I didn't have that much feelings for her, just respect."

"It's not the same for me, but if I let go of the desires maybe we can be friends?" Tate was at the moment not talking to him anymore, so Takeda kept walking a small smile on his lips (he wasn't going to tell him that he had met another girl that help him saw that).

* * *

Next Chapter: (It might be the last, it might not) Nao talks to Shiho grandfather. Mai and Mikoto kiss (they might do more). Certain biker discovers that she's addicted to her girlfriend. Akane is happy that things are getting better. As regards to Han-san Tate disappears (in the sense that I don't know what to write about him, not like I'm going to kill him).

More Notes: I just want to say, it's not like I dislike Tomoe (she's voiced by Tanaka Rie after all) but she's supposed to be evil. Seeing one of Mai HiME episodes (the one when they think that Yukariko attacked Aoi) I noticed that Shizuru blushes when she sees Natsuki it's just really small. By the way about the new length, I still don't know what to do, but I took out the poll cause I got more votes than reviews, I'll have an answer by next chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

**Peach Blossoms  
**By: DarkBlue Mint

Disclaimer: I still don't own it…

Notes: So apparently I decided to finish this now, don't know if it's going to be more or not (this time it depends in external help) I only know that everything that was drafted had just been written, I hope you enjoy the ride… And I'm sorry for the delays in the ending, this chapter was going to be out yesterday, but my heart decided to take me out for a ride…

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The problem with kissing Munakata Shiho in the middle of the afternoon, after class, on the stairs of her temple right under the Torii doors wasn't exactly that Yuuki Nao didn't want to do it; it came more about the fact that they were exposed to everyone that came to the temple. Shiho had had the foresight to offer three times to go inside, but Nao could barely contain the strange impulses that made her kiss the shorter redhead again and again (and really the fact that it shut her up was only a bonus), this had brought some problems.

Those troubles were the reason why Nao was at the moment sitting in front of a table, trying her best to keep seiza, and not look at Shiho's grandfather too intently; the old guy seemed to have his eyes closed and his little mustache twitched once in a while. Shiho had decided to go to make tea (the little coward had run away), so they were the only ones in the room. The silence was making her crazy.

"So, that's all you have done to Shiho?" Nao gave the old man an incredulous look. "Kissing, that's all you done, cause Tate at least saw her naked, before--."

"Grandfather, we were little kids." Shiho said embarrassed while entering with freshly made cups of tea. "Nao-chan is not here for that, she's here for the job at the temple."

"Really? I'm sure that if a person dates one's granddaughter the least they could do is ask for permission." He said narrowing his eyes to the redheaded girl. "At least you're cuter than Tate, but that girl that came to help at the wedding had bigger…" He let the word hanging and made a motion with his hands.

"It's good to see that the craziness in your family has an explanation, octopus." Nao said with none of her typical malice, Shiho's grandfather was silent for some seconds and then started laughing.

"I like you." He said after sipping his tea. "So, what are your references?"

"Used to be a nun, got kicked out today… Now I kiss your granddaughter on the stairs of your temple." The former mistress of Julia had learnt a long time ago that with guys like this a good attack was the best defense, if you let them they would do everything in their power to make you blush (kind of like an older and shorter and male version of Fujino Shizuru).

"Ok, I need someone when Shiho is in Kendo, you seem good and you can learn the rest." He said after close to forty minutes of interview, that counted little for her background and more for questions about herself; sometime during the conversation Shiho had became tired and decided to sleep with her head on the Spider's shoulder (it was a very romantic picture, that no one would believe of the older redhead). "You know I'm going to marry you to her some day."

"Why would I want to marry to this crazy family?" The tender smile in her face belittled those words, he with all his years of wisdom had noticed in minutes that both redheads were falling in love with each other (and he was very happy to have first row tickets to see this show).

--

After Natsuki had left and Reito had decided to keep close guard by the door in case that anything happened between them (but still far enough to give them privacy); nothing more happened between Minagi Mikoto and Tokiha Mai. Mai kept herself on her knees, hugging the belly of the girl in the chair and wetting that section of the shirt with her tears; her right hand still clutching rather forcefully the shirt over her hear (maybe some part of her was scared, maybe if she were to let go she was going to lose Mikoto forever).

Neither knew how to star talking after Mai's last words. Mikoto had already forgiven her for not knowing about her love (at least she thought that was the reason for her begging for absolution). Mai tears were diminishing thanks to the tender caresses of Mikoto finger on her hair; how could she have been blind for so long? Mikoto had actually said it (as Natsuki and Akane told her), she had just been too much of and idiot to notice, and to think that…

"Mikoto was my first kiss." It wasn't until the fingers stopped that she noticed that the raspy voice was her own. She opened her eyes and lifted them to see the honest gold ones of Mikoto, who had a small smile on her face.

"I was Mai second kiss too… When I gave it back, remember?" She completed after seeing Mai's confused look; when the redhead laughed Mikoto felt some of the tension leave the room and let herself fall from the chair so they could be at the same level (Mai's hand still clutching her shirt over her heart). "I'm sorry about what happened the--."

"I want Mikoto to be all my kisses." The interruption not only surprised the kendoka but, by the distant sound, also an eavesdropping older brother. "I should have known sooner that Mikoto is my most important person."

"I'm not--." Apparently the young catgirl wasn't destined to complete a sentence this day.

"I have proof, not normal proof, but proof. Natsuki was the one to notice it, of all people. She and Akane told me this morning and I started thinking about it and they were right." She felt that she was starting to ramble so she took a breath, let amethyst find gold and started again. "In the carnival Kagutsuchi didn't disappeared. Akira lost, Takumi died, but Kagutsuchi was still there; Shiho lost, same with Tate. It was you, always you, you were the reason why my powers manifested that night in the boat, I was trying to protect you." She gave a small and rueful smile. "If I hadn't spent all my time worrying about the little things like not fighting, or Tate, or whatever else… I might have had figure it this sooner." Mai took another deep breath; it was time to say the important part "Mikoto I--."

"Mai, I love you." The kendoka had gotten bored of being interrupted so, after making sure that Mai was telling her exactly what she wanted to hear, she made her statement and kissed the redhead (and this time Mai stopped from clutching the shirt only to put her arms around the younger girl). Everything would have progressed smoothly if the little catgirl hadn't pushed Mai to the floor and her hand hadn't suddenly found its way under the redhead school shirt.

"Mikoto, your brother is by the door!" The dark haired girl was happy to notice that, apart from that complain, Mai didn't make any movement to take her hand away from its position.

"Mikoto, I need to go buy some tea and groceries, I will be back in and hour." She could barely contain a giggle, her Ani-ue hated to talk from between walls, and still he had done it for her. She was happy that her life had gone from normal, to absolute hell, to perfect all in one day (and she was trying very hard to ignore the pain in her right hand).

"Could it be two hours, Ani-ue?" At seeing the redhead eyes widening, she got afraid she said the wrong thing. But then, Mai grabbed the injured hand tenderly and gave it a small kiss a fond smile on her face.

When they heard the affirmative response from Reito they got up from the floor and went to the never used, but extremely well cared for (Mikoto's mother always hopped for the day her little girl decided to come home), room that Mikoto had in the house. By the time they went up the stairs and where in front of the room's door, the redhead could barely hide her apprehension. Mikoto simply gave a catlike smile.

"I'm fourteen, I'm injured and we only had been dating a total of like seven minutes or so. I might be wild but even Mikoto know it's too soon. Mm." The last nod was too cute for Mai to ignore and she felt relieved, not that she didn't want to do… this and that, with Mikoto, it was just too soon. It was good to see that her girlfriend was thinking the same thing. "Still, coming next week Mai will be completely mine." With those prophetic words the catgirl closed the door to the room.

--

The first thing that let Fujino Shizuru know that last night hadn't been a dream was that her right arm was asleep (that was a big clue that she was dreaming now), the second one was that she was naked, and the third one was that a finger seemed to be tracing unknown patterns on her back. All in all (except for the bothersome numbness in her arm) it was a very good way to wake up.

"Morning, my Natsuki." A kiss was deposited in her shoulder blade, and she could feel that her bed mate was smiling (she started to pray quickly to all the gods she could remember to always wake like this, with this person). Then she felt that her little wolf's kisses started to multiply and a hand was insistently making her turn. "Natsuki does know that she has class today? Also I can be late for work."

"Natsuki regrets to inform you then that you are already late, it's close to nine in the morning." Said an extremely happy and satisfied Kuga Natsuki, after she got her girlfriend to turn over, not that the light haired girl had a ugly back, but her front was more interesting to look at; and kiss, as she showed when she lowered her head and started to kiss a point under her left breast she had found by chance last night (Shizuru had informed her that her mark had been there).

"Wait, you mean I'm late for work?" She asked after some minutes, it was hard to talk when the love of you life was doing everything you ever dream of, Fumi was going to kill her (or at least tease her, she was as bad as her… maybe worse).

"Yes, so you better stay with me and make your little wolf happy." Those words from the biker face made the Seitokaicho blush, Natsuki happily counted a point in her favor (according to her calculations in seven years they would have a tie, that only if Shizuru kept making her blush at the current intervals).

"We need to get to school; maybe you can only get a late--." Shizuru was interrupted by a very, very passionate kiss and the feeling of her girlfriend's naked body on top of her.

"Who would have thought that Fujino Shizuru is one of those people that once they get the toy they always begged for, they don't want to play with them anymore." With those words she got up from the bed, and Shizuru's brain stopped to take in the tantalizing figure of the biker (unconsciously a hand went to her nose to check for blood). "Anyway, it's only six, so I guess you have time to take a shower with me at least, don't you?"

"S-Six? Natsuki means she was playing with me?" Playful Natsuki first thing in the morning, she didn't know if to be cross, charmed or simply swoon at the fact that she still was naked. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I'm the vengeful sort, and I don't like to flirt with other people, it was wake you up with a bucket of water or this." Then she looked at the door that lead to the small bathroom and shower in Shizuru's room and smiled roguishly. "So about that shower, you coming?"

"Maybe not right now, bout I'm sure that I will before the shower is over." Said a very naughty Kaicho passing her girlfriend and grabbing some towels. Natsuki quickly checked her nose and noticed that there was some blood on her finger (probably it was going to take her more than seven years; at least she will be very happy in the meantime). "If Natsuki really wants to get the point of which I belong to across, she can kiss me in front of my fan club today."

"You would really like that, don't you?" She wasn't talking only about the public kiss, but also that a kiss in front of so many people would make the rumors known to the members of the "Biker Wolf of Kuga fan club", actually that wasn't such a bad a idea. Then she saw her girlfriend covered in water and soap, and all thoughts of other people went out the window.

--

Linden Baum was bustling with people, and Kura-- (sorry) Higurashi Akane was happy, not only that they have a new waitress in Miyu Greer, but also that Tokiha Mai seemed to be back at full power. Of course, it would make her happier if the redhead wasn't paying all of her attention to mostly one table; and saying one table was being nice because, even thought there were other people sitting with her, all of the big breasted girl's attention was for Minagi Mikoto.

It could be worse, said a voice in her head. One section of the diner was practically bursting with people, it contained the combined the combined elements of Kuga Natsuki and Fujino Shizuru's fan club. Both girls had apparently found it necessary (or extremely funny, Akane wasn't sure) to kiss in the entrance of the school; just before the first bell rang, meaning the moment when most students were in place. So while both girls shared the table with Mikoto and Kanzaki Reito and talked with Mai (that was supposed to be working, not talking with everyone on that table), the members of both fan clubs look at them jealously and drowned their sorrows in ice-cream… at least they were good for business.

That wasn't as surprising as Yuuki Nao and Munakata Shiho. They had passed from sharing their typical table with Mikoto, to share a little more private booth, when they had told that to the kendoka she had simply nodded knowingly, something that made the spider glare until she was dragged by a happy octopus. Akane wouldn't have thought they were in a date, if it weren't that Tokiha Takumi and Okuzaki Akira were sitting very close to them, and the way that both couples acted seemed like a game of finding the ten differences.

"Is there a problem, Higurashi-san?" For a moment the voice made her flinch, she may have forgiven what the android did in the Carnival (everyone had tried their best to do that) but that didn't mean she had forgotten, still she did her best to take the scene again and the smile that had been on her face came back. Miyu noticed that she did something wrong (and some part of her felt bad that in the past she had ruined the life of a girl that now was helping her), but before she could apologize she was interrupted.

"No, there's nothing wrong, I think that everything is actually--." She interrupted herself after turning around and seeing Miyu, the girl was apparently carrying all the dirty plate and glasses that had been retired recently. "Miyu, I told you yesterday, just because you can carry them all in one go is no reason to do it!"

With those words Akane started to guide Miyu to the kitchen, apparently that things were looking up didn't mean that she could get distracted easily… well, at least she could look forward to her date with Kazu-kun next Saturday.

**End.**

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More Notes: I didn't use as many parentheses as before… (I miss you guys). I think I got Shiho's grandfather personality right; he only appears for little time in episode six (though he's shown to be some kind of pervert). Mikoto giving back Mai's kiss I think is or in one of those things that show what's gonna happen next chapter or in a fic I read sometime ago. The scene between Natsuki and Shizuru was going to be more… more, but I didn't want to up the rating to M, so I changed it, I like this version more. This chapter would have been longer if I had a fifth scene, but I didn't had any idea of what to write about Tate, or anyone else, so I'm one scene short.

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**Omake: **(In regards of what to do with poor Tate-kun, I had two very helpful reviews)

_Han dj: Why not let Tate and Tomoe be together..let Tate be Tomoe's new desire and she shows her how...the otome way? _(This idea was born when I read this).

"Tate, we have to get ready for tomorrow's night."

"Why Tomoe, what are we going to do tomorrow night?"

"Same thing we do all nights, Tate-kun. To try and conquer Shizuru!"

"Sh-Shizuru? You're using me? I thought you loved me!"

"Pookie? Come back, pookie! The world, I meant the world!"

"Right! Then why you still have a shrine of her on your room?"

"Don't blame me! It's not easy to let go of a goddess like her."

**End.**

--

_Maskala: If you're completely lost as to what to do with Tate.. Reito seemed to have an interest in him xD _(And this happened).

"A blind date, I can believe that Shiho set me up in a blind date."

_Knock knock_

"Kanzaki?"

"Good night, I hope I'm not late?"

"Kanzaki?"

"I brought you this; I didn't take you as the flowers kind of guy."

"It's a shinai cleaning kit…. This is very thoughtful."

"I also made reservations in an American place that I heard you liked."

"Reito-kun, what are we waiting for?"

**End.**


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